Have you ever had a season of your life? A day, a month, a year that you just wanted to throw away, that you just wanted to scrap. And you said, God, I don't did anything good come out of this. I don't know what this was all about, but I'd rather just forget about it, throw it away, and move on to the next thing. Honestly, I want to tell you, last year was one of those years. So let me explain to you how I got here. But first, I want to start with a question. Have you ever had a season of your life? A day, a month, a year that you just wanted to throw away, that you just wanted to scrap. And you said, God, I don't did anything good come out of this. I don't know what this was all about, but I'd rather just forget about it, throw it away, and move on to the next thing. Honestly, I want to tell you, last year was one of those years. So let me explain to you how I got here. So last October, I got let go from my teaching job. I was an elementary art teacher, so I taught K through 8th. I saw over 200 students a day. And so while there were some aspects that I enjoyed, there were some that were very strenuous. I learned a lot about myself, I learned a lot about the educational system, but there were parts where I was frustrated. I'm like, Lord, I still want to teach, but I want to be able to control the class size, I want to be able to control what I'm teaching and how I'm teaching. And so getting let go from that job wasn't necessarily a disappointment. But the Lord showed me something during that time. For those two years, instead of depending on God, I had become complacent. I trusted in the check more than I trusted in God. You know how our money says, in God we trust? No, I trusted in that check. In that check, I trusted, in those benefits, I trusted. Because it was my first job that provided uh pay time off, health and dental benefits, things that I hadn't had before as a freelancer or working in smaller companies that did not provide those types of things. So it was the first real job, the first real pay increase that I had seen in a long time. And I didn't realize that I was putting more dependence on the paycheck than I was on God. And so the Lord had to show me that. You've been uh just kind of sitting back and going through autopilot, and you haven't really been depending on me. So I actually started looking for jobs before I got let go just to you know kind of get some feelers out there. I'm like, okay, I've got 20 years of experience, I've been a professor, I've been a teacher. Surely, surely I can land a job. I mean, I've been in this industry for forever. I applied to job after job after job after job after job after job after job, only to be told you're not the right fit, I'm sorry, you're not what we're looking for. Or hey, you were really high up there. You were one of our top picks, but we chose someone else, and so I began to feel defeated. I could feel myself sinking into depression. I was getting frustrated, I was getting angry. I'm like, Lord, I didn't think you were going to bring me back to this place again. Why is this happening? So my spiritual parents heard my frustration. And my spiritual father he calls me. He's like, Okay, it was one of those surprise calls where I wasn't prepared for you know what he was gonna tell me. Usually, you know, we're talking about assignments, what's going on in the church, but he called me to speak specifically to me and to my situation. And so he gave me some tips, he told me what to do, um, how to go after larger clients, how to restructure my business, how to get certified with the state, and different things. And so he's like, if you do these things, you're gonna have breakthrough. So I did everything, I did everything he told me to do. I got certified by the state, I got certified with the government, I did all those things, but I'm like, Lord, it's taking too long. What I where's the client? Where's the where's the breakthrough? And I'm becoming impatient and I'm getting frustrated, and I'm like, in my inner thoughts, I'm like, Lord, I feel like a failure. I have devoted my life to art and design, and I've had successes, I've had lows, I've had ups and downs, but Lord, where is the sustained breakthrough? I'm tired of this roller coaster. I want to get off. Like, God, do something. And so the Lord gave me a homework assignment about, I want to say a month ago. And he's like, after you get done praying for everyone else, interceding for your family, your church, your friends, um, I want you to begin to quote Ephesians 3:20 over yourself. And to be honest, I'm like, Lord, sometimes I get frustrated of quoting verses like Jeremiah 29:11. I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope in the future. Um, now unto him who can do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think. Sometimes I get tired of that because my life does not look like that. Honestly, I'm like, Lord, okay, I'll listen, I'll begin to quote the verse over my life. I sat a rem I uh set a reminder on my phone every day, every morning, it goes off to remind me to quote the scripture over my life. So, day one, day two, day three, day four, the days go by and I'm quoting the scripture over my life, I'm quoting the scripture over my business, I'm quoting the scripture over my family, I'm quoting the scripture over my ministry. And as I read it, I notice something. And that's one thing that the Lord will do. Sometimes we become so familiar with scripture that we don't think that there's anything else to see or anything else to learn about it. We become so common with God's word that we kind of shut it out of our minds, especially when it's it doesn't look like it applies to our life right now. And so I looked at the New Living Translation. It says, now unto him who is able to do infinitely more than we could ask or think, through his power at work within us. I said, within us within me. Okay, he's going to do infinitely more than I could ask or think through his power that's in me. I said, okay, so he's going to do it through his power in me. Sometimes we're waiting for our outside circumstances to change, but what God is going to do through us, he's gonna start working on the inside of us first. So, God, do whatever you need to do to shift me on the inside, whether I need to stretch my prayer life, stretch my devotion life, and read more of the word, whether I need to fast more, do whatever you need to do, what do I need to cut off? What do I need to get rid of? Because I know that you're going to do it through your power at work within me. Sometimes we have to take an external and internal look at ourselves and stop focusing on the external. What God, what do you need to change in me? What do you need to shift in me so that you can do infinitely above all that I can ask or think according to your power at work within me? And so I started asking God to change me. I started asking God to shift me. I started asking God to remove things. And you know what? About three days ago, I got an inbox on LinkedIn. No, I'm not really active on LinkedIn. Now I keep my profile updated, I keep my employment history updated and things of that nature. I might go on LinkedIn and look at posts and you know, congratulate other people, but I'm not really an active poster like that. So I got an inbox about three days ago from somebody I don't know. I didn't know them. And they said, Well, so-and-so spoke so highly of you. Um, I'd like to invite you to be a panelist at our design conference next month. And I'm like, I'm scratching my head. I'm like, is this real? Is this real right now? And so he named the person who recommended me. I'm like, I haven't talked to this person in five or six years since before the pandemic. And I've only met them or spoken to them a handful of times. I didn't even know that they were watching me. I don't even see them on social media like that. And he said, they spoke so highly of you. We'd like to invite you to speak on a Pan Letter Design Conference. Now it's a local conference, and I'm oh my lord, is this real? Is this is this really for me? And then he sends the information about the conference, and I'm like, oh my gosh, this would be amazing. This is an honor. So, of course, I said yes, it came out of the blue. I wasn't expecting it. I didn't even realize people were watching me like that, or if I even left an impression on anyone. And then I think it was about a week ago, I heard from the Office of Supplier Development and Diversity for the district, for the school district. They were offering a program for small businesses to be able to work in their industry with this particular district. And I called them, I'm like, how did you get my name? Because it's a desire of mine to still be able to work, whether it's through design, whether it's through teaching, whether it's through, you know, whether it's through developing curriculum and those different things, it's still a desire of mine to work within the school system. Like, how'd you get money? So, man, you're on the list of small businesses. If you're registered with the state and you're registered with the government, you know, and I see you have skills in graphic design, we're definitely going to need that. I know that we're going to have something come up. So I please sign up for this program. I'm like, Lord, Lord, you're faithful. Lord, you answer prayer, Lord, you've been working this whole time. Even when we don't see it, he's working, even when we don't feel it, he's working. He never stops working. And so even as it was coming to closer to my birthday, generally it's a time that you know I get excited. I'd even prophesied over myself last year, 42, that the 42nd year was going to be the culmination of the things that I had been praying for, the things that I had been prophesied to about. Um, Jesus came down through 42 uh generations. So I'm like, okay, this is gonna be the fulfillment, this is gonna be the culmination. And so when I didn't see that happening, I was like, well, you know, it's my birthday, it's just another day. I'll, you know, I'll go out, I'll do something. You know, I'm a big app person and a big couponer, so a lot of times I'll sign up for apps from different restaurants and whatnot. So on my birthday, you know, I get free food and coupons and discounts. So I'm like, oh, on my birthday, I'll just go out, get myself a few treats and call it a day. But the Lord just showed me, even when it's down to the last wire, he will come through. No, that season of just that season of where you felt like nothing was happening. That season of being in the cave. No, the Lord was working, the Lord was working. You're about to break forth, you're about to break through, it's about to show up, it's about to manifest, the word is about to become tangible, it's about to become flesh, whatever you've been waiting for, praying for, seeking God for to happen in your life. I'm telling you, it's about to happen. He can do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, infinitely more than we can imagine through his power at work within us. So look inward. What is God trying to shift in your life? What is God trying to move out of your life? What is God trying to stretch you in? Allow him to do the inner work so he can reward you outwardly. All right, I pray that that was a blessing to you. Have an amazing day. I love you. If this episode spoke to you, like, share, and subscribe. You can find me on YouTube, IG, Facebook, and TikTok at WhatARuckus Podcast. You can also visit my website at www.witterickus.com. Let's keep making the ruckus the right way. Thanks for listening.